Couple set off from Wellingborough in old banger for Blackpool to Benidorm race

Francesca Gosling

A brave pair of rat-racing fundraisers have set off from Wellingborough to embark on a sponsored “old banger race” which will see them drive to Benidorm in Spain for charity.

Neil Davies and Jayne Wray, also known as E=MC Hammer, are one of the 200 teams taking part in the Benidorm or Bust challenge.

Neil Davies and Jayne Wray set off from Wellingborough Tesco on their Benidorm or Bust race

They set off from Tesco in Wellingborough at 11.30am yesterday (Tuesday, May 5) in their chosen Ford and headed for Blackpool, where the 1,500-mile round trip will begin today.

Their aim is to raise more than £2,000 for mental health charity Northampton Mind, and the Friends of St Giles School which supports education for young people with learning disabilities.

The plan for everyone involved in the race is simple: to buy an old banger, adapt and decorate it, then drive it without any mishaps through England, France and Spain – and all while completing a number of challenges along the way.

Neil and Jayne have themselves paid for the car and will also pay for petrol, hotels along the way and the flight back from Spain after they leave their trusty banger in Benidorm where it will be scrapped, having completed the route through Calais, Rouen-Le Mans, Poitier and Zaragoza before finally reaching Benidorm.